The 'E' Type Forum

Hi All,

I have to buy some new tires for my 1969 LHD OTS , has anyone bought some lately?
Im looking for an authentic looking tire.
do I try and find the original type it was produced with ?
Or is there a better performing one that still looks period.

any thoughts would be appreciated ,

thanks

Grant.

Blockley tyres look period and handle well.
Stick with the standard 185VR15 size
Buy them from MWS Wheels - http://shop.mwsint.com/product_details.asp?id=244

Vredestein 185-15, they're well worth getting and scored well in a recent review of vintage TYRES (note English spelling ) second to Pirelli and above Michelin and Blockleys.
But everyone has their own views as to which they prefer and few of us have driven all makes of tyres.
Certainly avoid going for fatter 205/70-15 tyres

Geoff

Blockleys on mine....they seem fine for everyday road use.

Hi All
Wow that was a really quick response thank you guys,
Ive seen the Vredestein and they look good Ive not seen the Blockley ones I will google them now.
has anyone seen some dunlop ones at all ?I think it would of come with them .


Thanks

Grant.

MWS sell them all including Dunlop and Pirelli.

On previous posts some people believe the car should only have VR rated tyres as per original spec and that a lower rating may be an insurance problem, e.g. viewtopic.php?t=1167
I've no idea if this is valid but it is one reason I went for Blockleys
The Vreds are only HR rated.

Hi Steve,

thats a good point thank you for pointing it out .
I will have a read up .


Thanks

Grant.

Hi Grant, I too have a 1969 OTS and have fitted 185VR15 Dunlop SP Sports which I understand the car was originally fitted with. I am delighted with their performance and they look great.
They came from Vintage Tyres
Regards
Simon

I have Dunlop SP on my FHC and Michelin XVS on my OTS. The Dunlop's look better ( they appear wider than they are) but the XVS give you more confidence in spirited driving. Depends on how you intend to use the car.

Dunlops. Don't be fitting fancy foreign tyres to your car when virtually everything else on it was made within sight of Coventry....

That's right.I think you will find that the Dunlops are made in that well known Midlands area ....Japan

Seriously though, there is no insurance problem with the 185HR Vredesteins. I just declare that they are fitted and have had no problem in that being accepted. Amongst other things, when the s1 cars were new, there were no speed ratings, and of course the cars up to about 1965 usually had crossply Road Speed RS5, with radials ( usually SP41 or Cinturato ) being introduced as an option

christopher storey wrote:That's right.I think you will find that the Dunlops are made in that well known Midlands area ....Japan

I think you're maybe getting confused with the Dunrop Lubber Company?

Good point though. However, in my case mine were fitted as we approached the end of restoration in 2014, and just before Fort Dunlop closed, and therefore declare themselves to be 'Made in Great Britain' on the sidewalls

Worth looking as Camskill, an example https://www.camskill.co.uk/m53b0s1143p1 ... oise%3A_XC

Hi Everybody,

I seemed to have opened a can of worms here !
thank you all for taking the time to respond.
Im really torn the "correct ones" seem to be around £1000 and the Vredestein are around £500 fitted !
Which , when just starting the process of restoring a car is a big difference
Decisions decisions!

thank you all again for your input

Grant

ps , thank you Geoff for pointing out my incorrect spelling of Tyres I actually had not noticed the difference before,But I'm very glad to steer clear of Americanisms sneaking into my vocabulary.
Although I have nothing against Americans !
Grant.

Go for the Vreds, they have lots of fans here.

I think Dunlops are made in the U.K.
Certainly mine are marked "Made in Great Britain" and the date is 3016

"The Avon factory in the UK, which manufactures the Dunlop Vintage Tyre line, temporarily suspended production of the tires in August 2016. Production was ended to retool many of the molds and to further expand on production of their vintage racing tires. They are to begin production of the vintage tires again late fall or winter 2016."

Clearly that date has not been met!

Had 4 new vreds (classics ?) fitted 3 weeks ago.
Perform well and very very pretty looking rubber !!

I just had Vredestein 185-15 installed on my car. I had 205 Pirelli's on before and was afraid the Vreds wouldn't look right. They look and ride great! I vote for them!

Hi Grant,

What wheels are going to be on the car ?

My original wheels needed restoration, but it was not viable to do, so I purchased new MWS competion wheels which are 15 x 5.5 wide. This then enabled me to stretch the existing rubber wider on the original spec but new 185VR15 Dunlop SP Sports.
I am very pleased with the look as the car as it is slighly chunkier on this combo and has lost the skinny look from the rear. The ride is more compliant and comfortable, plus it's a great combination for more spirited driving now.

Below is a pic with the wheels halfway through the change at MWS, new on the front & original on the rear just for comparison, bear in mind it's just come of the jack so not settled etc

Just another idea / option for you to consider.